Writing pen



y 14, 1964 SHlGEKl SHIMAMURA 3,

WRITING PEN Filed May 21, 1963 INVENTOR Smeem $H\MAMU'RQ ATTORNEY$ United States Patent 3,140,505 WRITING PEN Shigeki Shimamura, 833 Kyodo-machi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan Filed May 21, 1963, Ser. No. 281,945 Claims priority, application Japan July 6, 1962 8 Claims. (Cl. 15-563) This invention relates to improvements in writing pens and is directed particularly to an improved pen body having material advantages over present known pen bodies of felt.

Previously known and presently used pen bodies of felt are formed or composed of a piece of rectangular felt strip. Such a pen body is chiefly of advantage for forming bold letters, and letters finer than a certain thickness cannot be written with such a pen. Furthermore such a pen has the defect, or feeling, of being too pliable when writing. Furthermore, after some use, the feel of the pen changes, becomes hard, due to the fact that the quick-drying ink at the tip forms a residue and this becomes mixed with dust and this mixture of dust with the quick-drying ink not only causes the pen to develop the hard feel but it also results in the flow of the ink being obstructed. When this occurs it makes the pen defective in that it causes variance in the written letters and its also results in shortening the life of the pen body. Once such solids are formed, the pen body must be discarded as it is difiicult to form a suitable writing point. Also, as a consequence, the previous felt pen could not be used with an ink supplementing means as the life of the pen body was short and, as a result, the majority of such pens were discarded with ink left in them. As such known pens have many defects, such as the feel of the pen being poor, variance easily occurs in the thickness of the written letters and it became limited only to use for bold letters and thus its range of use was considerably limited in spite of its utility.

The present invention has for its principal object to provide a pen free of the aforementioned defects which felt body pens have.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved pen body wherein it is not only possible to regulate the use of the pen body freely for forming both bold and fine letters, but wherein, also, a hard or soft pen feel can be selected as desired.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a pen body of felt so designed that it becomes difficult for dust or other solidified material or substance to adhere to the pen body due to the formation of ink residue.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a felt pen body of such design or construction that variance in the form, that is the thickness or thinness of the written letters is prevented.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved pen body of a design which makes possible the easy removal of the worn or aged part at the tip of the pen body during use or it can be removed by sharpening in the same way that a pencil is sharpened and which can be used in the manner of a fountain pen by providing supplementing ink or an ink supply whereby its life will be much longer as compared with the previously known felt pen body.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompaning drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of the writing end or tip portion of a pen constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

Patented July 14, 1964 ice FIG. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale, of the end portion shown in FIG. 1 and which is partly in longitudinal section.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing the reference character B generally designates the pen body, a portion only of which is illustrated and which portion includes the tapered or conically formed or pointed tip end generally designated 6.

The pen body is, as illustrated, in the form of a cylinder or rod and is composed of a continuous rolled or spirally wound sheet of paper or paper pulp-like fiber of a felt-like characteristic and which continuous sheet is designated 1.

The opposite or front and back surfaces of the fiber sheet are coated with a layer or layers of a synthetic resin which layers are designated 2 and 3.

In an extending through the axial center of the cylindrical or rod-shaped body B is a core 4 which is composed of monofilament fibers lying in a parallel longitudinal arrangement and this core of fibers is formed or treated with a thermosetting resin which bonds the fibers together.

The exterior surface of the rolled fiber sheet is covered by a thermosetting plastic layer 5 which covers the entire outer surface of the rolled sheet body as illustrated.

As stated the main or major part of the body is formed by rolling the paper or pulp-like fiber sheet into a cylindrical rod having a number of spiral layers and which layers are separated by the coatings of suitable synthetic resin. The paper or pulp-like fiber has in its structure and between the synthetic resin layers, interstices which provide clearance for ink flow through the sheet in each layer and between the layers or in other words, between the coatings or layers of the synthetic resin toward the conically pointed end 6 and toward and onto the hard core body 4 which forms the pen point and this conically pointed part and the hard core form the writing tip or point, particularly the end of the hard core by means of which the writing of medium or fine letters can be effected.

When it is desired to write bold letters corresponding to those written by the previously known felt pen body,

this is made possible by pulling out the hard core 4 and then the bore or tubular passage 7 permits a large flow of ink, the end of the conical portion at 8 then being employed for writing or forming the bold letters.

The quick-drying ink used for this type of pen flows, as previously stated, in the spirally arranged layers of the fiber sheet in the interstices or the clearance spaced between the fibers and between the layers but, since the surfaces of the layers are protected by the synthetic resin coating layers, the flowing ink does not come into contact with air and therefore does not dry until it reaches the writing surface at the tip and since the flow is divided into finely or thinly formed streams in each roll layer and between the thinly spaced resin coated surfaces of each layer, there is no danger of a large mass or accumulation of ink forming at the tip or solidifying at the tip to prevent writing, such as occurs in previously known felt pen bodies.

Another feature of the present invention is that it is possible to make the writing tip pointed when it becomes old or worn as a result of long continued writing, by employing a knife to shape the tip to the desired size and conical form.

It will also be readily apparent that when an especially hardened pen body is required, it is possible to make the body of the desired hardness by applying the synthetic resin coating layers thickly. However, it is not necessary to harden the pen body to more than the usual hardness or to the hardness which would be obtained by applying the resin layers relatively thinly since the core body 4 has the effect of hardening or stiffening the feel of the pen. In addition, the removal of the hard core, or its insertion into the passage of the pen body, makes it possible to use the pen either as a hard or soft pen body.

In the previously known or used felt pen body the ink dries quickly when the pen is left with the writing end uncovered, as the ink penetrates through the entire pen body and the entire pen body hardened as the ink dried. Once the ink has dried and the pen body hardens, it will not return to the original condition and the flow of ink becomes poor and the pen becomes practically unusable as variances in the thickness of the letters result. However, in the pen body of the present invention, the entire body of the pen will not harden and the pressure applied to the body in the process of writing induces new or fresh ink to move toward the tip and to dissolve or remove any small amount of ink which may have tended to harden at the pointed conical tip so that the tip is returned to or kept in its original condition and by this action it can be made to withstand long use by supplementing, or supplying supplemental ink to the pen body whereby, because of the construction of the body it will act or function like a fountain pen. Accordingly ink supplied to the end of the body opposite from the tip, will feed to the tip through the spiral layers of the fiber sheet and will not be exposed to the atmosphere and accordingly cannot dry out before it reaches the writing tip.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents, are therefore intended to be embraced by those claims.

I claim:

1. A pen comprising an elongate cylindrical body formed of a fiber sheet rolled in tight spiral layers, the spiral layers having separating layers of a synthetic resin therebetween, and a core body in and extending axially through said cylindrical body and having an end projecting beyond an end of the cylindrical body, forming a writing tip, the said fiber sheet being of a character to permit ink to flow therethrough between said resin layers, to said writing tip.

2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said core body consists of monofilament fibers.

3. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said core body consists of a bundle of parallel monofilament fibers.

4. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said core body consists of a bundle of parallel monofilament fibers treated with thermosetting resin.

5. The invention according to claim 1, wherein said fiber sheet is formed of paper pulp.

6. A pen comprising a felt-like sheet of fibrous material fashioned in a spiral roll forming a body in the shape of a rod, a synthetic resin layer between and separating the spirals of the roll, the roll having an axial passage therethrough, a core body removably positioned in said axial passage, the body having a tapered end of substantially conical form, said core body having an end projecting beyond said tapered end of the body, forming a writing tip, said core body being relatively hard as compared to the hardness of the rod body and giving to the pen a hard feel when used for writing fine and medium fine strokes, the core body being removable for use of said tapered end only as a writing tip for forming broad or bold strokes, said felt-like fiber sheet being of a character to permit ink to flow therethrough to said tapered end and to said tip and said axial passage forming additional means for conveying ink to said tapered end when said core body is removed.

7. The invention according to claim 6, wherein said spiral roll body has a surface coating throughout the straight portion only thereof, of a thermosetting plastic.

8. A pen characterized by a rod-like body formed of a rolled sheet of a fibrous material such as paper, paper pulp and similar material, .to both surfaces of which sheet of material a synthetic resin has been applied before rolling, and the body having a tapered conical tip and and further having a hard core, one end of which core projects beyond said conical tip and is usable as a writing tip and which core is removable whereby said conical tip only is usable for writing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,983,254 Silver May 9, 1961 

8. A PEN CHARACTERIZED BY A ROD-LIKE BODY FORMED OF A ROLLED SHEET OF A FIBROUS MATERIAL SUCH AS PAPER, PAPER PULP AND SIMILAR MATERIAL, TO BOTH SURFACES OF WHICH SHEET OF MATERIAL A SYNTHETIC RESIN HAS BEEN APPLIED BEFORE ROLLING, AND THE BODY HAVING A TAPERED CONICAL TIP AND AND FURTHER HAVING A HARD CORE, ONE END OF WHICH 